Elani
by blue candlelight 13
Summary: Elani's brother, Legolas, promised they would always be together. When he joins the Fellowship of the Ring, Elani is going to hold him to that promise - even if she has to join the Fellowship to do it.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE; in this story, 12 years means one year for elves. Legolas has the maturity of around 21, and Elani has the maturity of a 12-year-old.

ELANI

"Elani…" Legolas says cautiously. I can tell it is bad news.

"No," I say, my eyes widening. I take a step back. "You didn't."

"Elrond appointed me as part of the Fellowship of the Ring. I… I couldn't say no, you know that."

"You liar. You volunteered for it, didn't you?" I say. "You PROMISED! You promised that since Naneth left and Ada…" I pause to find the proper word. "Secluded himself, we'd always be together! You even promised that you wouldn't join the Fellowship! YOU PROMISED!"

I shove him and he falls into a chair. I dive behind the curtain that separates our beds. I pummel my pillow for a second and then collapse on it, crying.

"Elani…" He's standing in front of the curtain uncertainly.

"Go away!" I scream, my voice shaking. "Just go away."

_ It's been 60 years now. 60 years since we were out playing and I saw the bodies. 60 years since our world fell apart._

_We had been climbing trees together. Legolas told me that you could see the whole world from the top of one._

_"Come on!" he said, extending his hand to pull me up. I ignored it, and hoisted myself onto the limb of the tree._

_Legolas pushed a couple branches apart and we stuck our heads out. _

_"It's beautiful," I say, awestruck. I cautiously turn in a circle, facing the palace we live in with our parents._

_"I know. And look, you can see Ada and Naneth's bedroom," he said._

_I turn to him, a devilish smile on my face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_

_"Oh, no. You wouldn't," he said, his smile matching my own._

_"There is the ivy leaves," I said. "We'd be able to make it. Unless you're scared…" I taunted him._

_"I'm not scared."_

_"Prove it."_

_I clambered down and waited a few seconds for him to come down as well._

_"We need to find a good route," Legolas fretted. "We can't be seen by anyone."_

_"Chicken." I started to climb; using the ivy leaves as handholds and places where the brick jutted out as footholds._

_We stayed in the shadows, and numerous times we had to stay very still and hope the servant who had gone outside– or in one case, our aunt, Queen – didn't see us._

_Once I almost fell. The ivy that was holding my weight broke. Legolas only just grabbed my arm before I went tumbling down the 50-foot drop._

_I knew I was immortal, just like my brother. But it was still scary._

_We climbed into the window carefully. I collapsed on the bed._

_"We are never doing that again," Legolas said._

_"You and I both know we'll be doing it again tomorrow," I said, grinning. I pulled a berry from a basket of fruit on the nightstand and tossed it at him. He gulped it down._

_"C'mon, let's look around," I said._

_"Why? We know this place like the back of our hands?"_

_"How well do you know the back of your hand, anyways?"_

_"I know it perfectly, actually."_

_"Even the smudge of dirt?"_

_While he rubbed out the dirt, I strolled around through the sitting room, both of our bedrooms, and finally, what we called the sitting room. _

_The sitting room was where I saw them._

_I saw Ada and Naneth, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. _

_"LEGOLAS!" I shrieked. _

_He ran into the room and saw our parents. His already fair face was bleached of colour._

_"Stay with them, Elani!" he said. "I'll go get help."_

_I walked closer to them, my thin slippers getting soaked with blood. I ripped out the hem of my dress and tried to stop the bleeding. I was covered in blood by the time Legolas came back with 2 guards. They immediately scooped up our parents and ran off, leaving us alone._

_Legolas sat beside me, not caring about the blood on both of our clothes. I buried my face in his shoulder and we hugged in the pool of our parent's blood._

I wake up in the middle of the night. Legolas is asleep in his bed. I need to talk to someone other than him. Arwen. Arwen, my best friend, my confidant, my hero, and my honorary sister.

I tiptoe past my brother. He almost wakes up once, but I manage to get away uncaught.

I steal away to her room. She's waiting for me there.

"You heard." It was a question, not a statement.

She nods. "It's not his fault, you know."

"Yes, it is."

"Okay, maybe it is. But deep down, you knew he was going to, and you didn't try and stop him. You aren't going to try and stop him."

I take a deep breath, knowing that what I am about to do will probably cost me my life. But it's worth it. Up until now, the only thing that kept me going was a misguided belief that I was more or less invincible. But it wasn't. It was Legolas."You're right, I'm not. I'm going with him."

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm going with him."

"I don't suppose I can stop you, can I?"

"No. But you can help me. Will you?"

"Of course."

She pats her bed, and I sit beside her.

"Will you come too?"

"No, I can't. They'll know I went."

I give her a quick hug and turn to leave.

"Elani…" she says, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Yes?"

"Can you try to see that Aragorn comes back alive?"

I nod, and disappear into the night.

_What does she see in him? He's not even an elf, and it would never work,_ I think as I walk back to the part of the palace my brother and I share. Aragorn is our honorary brother, but ever since something I couldn't quite put my finger on in our dynamics shifted, I've liked him less and less.

I walk back to our room. Legolas is leaning on the windowsill, looking at the night sky. He doesn't turn around, but moves over, giving a non-verbal invitation for me to join him.

I ignore it and go to my bed. I can sense his hurt, but he doesn't say anything. I smile, knowing that he hardly feels anything compared to what I'm going through. I relish doing to him what he did to me.

I roll into a comfortable position. I have a lot of planning to do. They leave tomorrow, and I'm sneaking out after them. I need to be ready.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE; Thank you to Elas for being the first reviewer! Please review and tell me what you like, this is my first story. I'll try to update every Monday. Enjoy!

They leave at dawn. I give my brother a hug, not making eye contact. As he had said many times before, he 'could read me like a book'.

"Goodbye," he says quietly. He hasn't forgotten our rather one-sided fight last night. Neither have I.

"Bye."

I walk back to stand beside Arwen. I smile at her, but she's looking at Aragorn, not me.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer," one of them says. I'm not sure of whom, though.

One of the shorter people, though not a dwarf, steps forwards and joins the cluster of people at the entrance. So that's the Ringbearer.

They leave in single file, with the Ringbearer leading them. I'm sure I hear him ask the old man with the pointy hat which way to turn.

It hurts a bit that Legolas didn't look back.

As soon as the crowd starts to disperse, Arwen passes me a pack.

"There's food, water, a warmer pair of clothes, a blanket, and one of the knife blocks from the Rivendell kitchens. Why'd I have to steal that, anyways?"

"Throwing knives," I reply. I throw my arms around her for a second, and then disappear through the archway.

"You do have a plan, right?" Arwen calls.

"Of course," I say, lying through my teeth.

I DID have a plan. I just hadn't planned up to this phase yet.

_How many times have we snuck out just like this before? _I reflected. _It feels like 500. So many lighthearted adventures…_

Not all had been lighthearted, though. There was one…

_It was the first time we had been to Rivendell since Naneth sailed. She and Ada had just one day left on their horses. Ada came back, but only a shell of him. I can count on one hand the number of sentences he had said to me since then._

_One day, we met in the shade of our special tree – a huge maple. Normally, there would have been rough-housing and laughter, but not that time._

_I opened up the conversation. "All of our mothers have left."_

"_And our father has practically sailed. He's not the same as he once was," said Legolas._

"_Every child needs their mother," Arwen stated._

"_What else is there for us here?" the twins said in unison._

_We were all heartbroken at that time. We wanted to see our mothers more than anything and all the fun had gone out of the world._

_Sure, the twins were exaggerating. But we felt like that._

"_We leave at midnight," said Elladan. _

_We snuck out, only bringing food and blankets. We were apparently halfway to the Gap of Rohan before they realized we were gone._

"_They'll have sent out people to find us by now," Elrohir said one morning. "We need to move faster."_

_We practically ran the rest of the way. We found the gap of Rohan, and then blindly westward, because the twins, who were the oldest of us, had never gone farther than that before._

_We all fancied that we could smell the salt of the sea when we first saw the riders, rushing towards us. _

"_Grab hands and run!" Legolas shouted. "We need to stay together!"_

_We ran away from them, only to be cut off by more from the west. Soon, we were surrounded in a circle of elves and horses. There couldn't have been more than 15, but to us it felt like 50._

"_Don't let them take you without a fight!" I think that was Arwen's voice. We charged at them._

_Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas charged at them, but as those soldiers were the ones who taught them boxing, than they were easily overpowered. Arwen tried, but she seemed unwilling to hurt anyone._

_In a way, I fared the best, but only because I fought dirty. I clawed at anyone's face I could reach, and whenever I hand reached for me, I bit it. Many unlucky elves lost blood to my teeth._

_Eventually they got me, though. I don't remember the ride home. I knocked myself out trying to escape._

I tail them for a day and a night before they realize anything is wrong. It's quite easy, as the small ones are quite loud, and the dwarf seems to want to kill every bit of nature in his path.

It's Legolas who first realized they're being followed. I set up a small camp and am munching on an apple when all of a sudden, 9 people of various sizes come running towards me.

I really need to work on my fight or flight instincts. Instead of running away from them, I find myself running right at them.

I let instinct take over, and am lashing out at anyone within a two-foot radius. Like I said, I fight dirty. I'm clawing at their faces if they come too close, biting their hands if they try to grab me, and yes – I'll admit it – even kneeing them in the groin.

Someone grabs my hands and twists them from behind. I didn't even see it coming. I'm totally vulnerable.

"A girl?" one of the men says. He's bleeding from a few cuts on his face. "What is a girl doing here?"

"Oh, nothing. We're a day's journey away from any civilized place. I'm sure I just randomly walked here and bumped into you."

"Without the sarcasm, please," says Aragorn.

"I'm stalking you, Aragorn. What did you expect?"

"You know her?" one of the small people says.

"Not well."

"Not well?" I ask. "I've grown up with you during your 87 years of life!"

"You're 87?" another small person asks.

"Maybe."

"Really, Elani, why are you here?"

I look behind me, at the speaker, and see that it's Legolas holding onto me.

"You promised we'd always be together, didn't you?"

He nods, just a tiny nod no one else can see. I know that he won't object to me joining now.

"You'll only hinder us," says the man with the pointy hat.

"Hinder you? Try me," I say. I want to kill this man, and stomp on his pointy hat, but I don't.

No one says anything, so I speak again. "Well, you're not getting rid of me, so you'd better give up and let me join you."

Again, no one speaks. Have I won or lost this battle?


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

One of the small people is walking towards me. I've been hovering around the edge of the camp for an hour now, and I'm starting to get hungry. No one has talked to – or even looked at – me for the whole time. As he approaches, I feel the glares of 8 pairs of eyes trained on him. To do him credit, he doesn't falter.

"Um… hello," he said.

"Hello."

"Are you hungry? I brought something for you."

My stomach made a sound like a dying moose. We hesitate for a second, and then both start to laugh. I can feel the stares intensify, but for once, I don't care.

"I guess that's a yes," he says, and passes me a piece of bread with something on it. I proceed to fill my face.

He's looking at me oddly. "What?" I manage to say around the food in my mouth.

"I just… I just thought that elves were always perfect and graceful," he stammers.

"Most are, but I'm proud to say I'm not. It's kind of scary," I confide.

"Anyways – where are my manners?" I'm tempted to make a smart-aleck comment, but I don't. "My name is Samwise Gamgee, but you can call me Sam."

"Hi, Sam. I'm called Elani."

"That's Pippin, Merry, Frodo, Gimli, Boromir, Gandalf – and, well, you know who Aragorn and Legolas are." He's pointing at everyone in the clearing in turn. I try to remember all the names.

"Thanks, Sam."

He walks away, and everyone's still staring at me. On impulse, I stick my tongue out at pointy-hat – oh, no, sorry. His name is Gandalf.

I climb a tree and settle down, like I always do. I always feel better high up, and especially in a tree. I wrap my blanket around myself, and immediately fall asleep.

_I forget the last time I felt that feeling of companionship. Not with Legolas or Arwen anymore… they've grown up. I remember having felt it with father. Not anymore._

_Legolas was exiting Adar's office when he found me, crouched in the hallway._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Nothing."_

_You're not planning to sneak into Adar's office, are you?"_

"_Maybe."_

_He sighed, face-palming._

"_What now?"_

"_All I'm doing is delivering some letters." I wave the stack in his face. _

"_Let me see that…" he grabbed it from me, read it, and groaned._

"_He'll get mad…"_

"_Why do you think I'm doing it?"_

"_Are you crazy?"_

_I shrugged. "Better a yelling than him ignoring me."_

_He shook his head and walked away._

_Once Adar went out for a second, I sneak in and deposit the letters at the top of his stack._

"_Dear Adar," they read, "I EXIST! You would do well to remember it. Love, Elani, your daughter, remember?"_

_There are 25 of them. _

_I kept waiting for the scolding he would give me when he found those._

_I never got it._

Someone is shaking me, trying to wake me up.

"Go away unless you have a death wish…" I grumble.

"Push her out…" I hear someone say.

Suddenly I'm falling, landing on top of Aragorn.

"Oops…" I mutter.

"What do you want?" I say to Boromir, who's the one who pushed me out in the first place.

"We have made a decision!" says Gandalf.

"Why do you need 8 other people to help you in deciding that you should take your pointy hat off before someone loses control of their urge to stomp on it?"

This is met with silence for a few seconds, as people try to figure out what I just said. Merry and Pippin start laughing, although they are silenced by a look from Gandalf.

Aragorn cuts in before Gandalf blows his top. That's good, as I don't want to die at age 144. "We've decided you can join the Fellowship."

He opens his mouth to say something more, but I cut him off with a loud cry of, "YES!" I do a small happy dance for a few seconds before regaining my composure. "I'm sorry, go on."

"You can travel with us… and all that."

"Gee, thanks. Isn't that what being in the Fellowship means?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE; this chapter was just to move things along, but as a warning; the next will also be incredibly slow, just Elani getting to know them all, and some stories around the campfire. But one of the stories will involve a play, Aragorn the dragon behind, and princess Legolas. Until next Monday!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

DISCLAIMER; I, unfortunately, am not J. R. R. Tolkien. Sorry about that.

AUTHOR'S NOTE; I can't believe I have 162 views! Please read, because if you get up to 500 views, than I'll post a special chapter; either Holiday edition or Babysitting. Let me know which one you want!

I wake up the next day, determined to get on the good side of the Fellowship. I make a mental checklist.

Sam; check. At least, I'm quite sure we'll be friends.

Legolas and Aragorn was obviously a check. After all, I've known them for a long time.

Boromir seems like someone I could be friends with; at least, he looks like he has a sense of humor.

Merry and Pippin seem like someone I'll be friends with, too. We seem to have an interest in making people incredibly mad.

Frodo I haven't quite figured out yet. I predict a slight bit of difficultly becoming friends, but not too much.

Gimli and Gandalf are the ones I'll have trouble with. Gimli is a dwarf, and I probably shouldn't have made the pointy-hat comment.

I don't even realize I've fallen back asleep until I'm shaken again.

"Die, you idiotic fool…" is my comeback this time. Aragorn wastes no time in pushing me out of the tree.

That's when I get my super-brilliant idea! Although… my last super-brilliant idea resulted in Legolas falling off a cliff.

I go around to people, explaining my plan. They all look a bit weary of me when I first come up to them, but I can see that I've broken down several walls, just by explaining my plan.

I avoid Gandalf altogether, and save Gimli for the last, when I've gathered a bit of self-confidence.

I plunk down next to him, and he immediately tells me to find a new rock to sit on.

"Look…" I say. "I know you're a dwarf, and I'm an elf, and we're supposed to hate each other. But just hear me out. I want you to do me a favour."

"What do you think I look like, a servant?"

"No. as a matter of fact, you look like someone who likes good jokes."

Actually, he didn't, but I figure I should flatter him up a bit.

I explain my plan. I'm not sure, but at the end of it, I think he may be smiling. "I'll think about it," he says.

By midway through the day, it starts.

"Aragorn, wash your hair!" Frodo barks.

"Dirty Aragorn…" says Merry.

"I don't see how you got so filthy," Pippin chimes in. "We've only been away from Rivendell half a week."

Sam goes in for the final punch. Wow, these little people – hobbits – were really good! "I bet he rolls in mud!"

This goes on for the whole afternoon, every one contributing. We're nearing a pond now, so I don't have to worry about wasting water. I dump my nearly-full water skin on his head.

"What?" he splutters. Water is soaking him to the bone.

"Legolas made me!" I say. "Something about the dirt being more than he can handle…"

Everyone, even Gandalf, is chuckling, and I grin. This was still attention, but positive attention.

"I'm going to get you for that, Elani…" he says.

"Not if I get you first…" I say diabolically. I can't wait for phase 2 of my plan!

We're sitting around the campfire, eating something delicious Sam has made. I have an agreement with Merry and Pippin; I give them the meat, and they keep me supplied with snacks. I'm a vegetarian, so it doesn't matter to me.

"Story!" Merry says. "Let's hear a story!"

"Yes!" all the other hobbits say.

Aragorn speaks up. "Elani's lived third longest, so she should tell this story!"

I grin, as this is exactly what I hoped would happen.

"My story is called Princess Legolas and Aragorn the Dragon's Behind."

I'm interrupted by groans.

"Please," Legolas says, "Have mercy!"

"I was 5!" shouts Aragorn.

I pertend I can't hear them.

"SO, Elladan and Elrohir wanted to do a play for their father's birthday. Legolas and I were visiting, so we joined in. It was a classic plot; dragon captures princess, knight saves princess.


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTE; thanks to mjg43 for reviewing, and thanks for saying it's nice. Also, thanks to badwolfsonnets and leadowl for favouriting, and lauren6498 and xc2010 for following. We're up to 243 views! And remember; drop me a review; babysitting or holiday. And a bonus; totally weird crazy thing!

CHAPTER 5

There is a figure lying on the ground. Hair spread out on the ground, hair the same colour as mine… I run towards him. Fast. But even still, everything slows down. I can see the blood gushing from his wounds. I need to save my brother. I'm not going to let him die. Something grabs onto me. I turn around, and look at an orc. He smiles, revealing rotting teeth. "Well, I wanted to finish off killing your mother. But you'll do…"

"Elani! Elani! Wake up!"

I sit up. Someone is screaming like they're about to be killed. It takes a few moments to realize it was me. I have to really try to close my mouth.

"Sorry, everyone. I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Everyone tries to. I can hear them shifting around. Legolas approaches me. "I thought you said those didn't happen anymore."

"They don't." I cross my fingers behind my back.

Aragorn comes after he's left. "You lied, didn't you."

"Yes. I can't stop them, though. They come every night, more or less, whether I want them or not."

He hands me a rag. "Stuff it in your mouth."

"Thanks, Aragorn. And I'm sorry about the pranks."

He shrugs and walks away. I wonder if that's a 'you're forgiven', or an 'I'm going to sulk about it for a bit more before saying it is fine'. I hoped the first.

Aragorn seemed to be second in command. I didn't want to anger him. That, and I respected his opinion.

_This was one of the first times I had the dream in a long time. I missed my Naneth. The assassination attempt wasn't what prompted my mother to sail, but I always thought of it as the beginning of the end. The orcs were what really did._

_ Just a regular ride. Just the 3 of us; Naneth, Legolas, and I. Adar was supposed to come too, but he had too much work. I suppose that's a good thing. I'm not sure I could have taken the loss of two parents that day._

_ I shared a horse with Naneth. Legolas was bragging about his new one; his first horse. _

_"We'll get you a horse soon, too," Naneth whispered. I smiled. I loved horses. _

_Suddenly, Naneth stiffened. "Orcs," she whispered. I gasped. I was still a tiny elfling, too small to go on patrols, but I had heard tales of them. Legolas' face hardened. He had heard of them, alright. He was already a commander of his troop._

_ Naneth and Legolas had a quiet discussion. I couldn't hear anything more than the urgency in their voices. She steered the horses over to a hollow tree. She picked me up, and hid me in it. _

_"You too, Legolas." _

_"Naneth!"_

_ "I need you to protect your sister." He nodded, and climbed in, too. It made things a bit squished, but I was scared out of my mind. I didn't really care._

_ Naneth turned away._

_ "What is she doing?" I ask my brother. "She's going to hide in another tree. Now, shush." _

_I shushed accordingly. _

_We heard the orcs streaming in. No one else had footsteps that loud._

_ "Look, boys!" I heard a rough voice shouting in the common tongue. "An elf! Fresh meat on the menu tonight!"_

_ My mother. They had found my Naneth._

_ I buried my face in Legolas' shoulder. He covered my ears, but watched the whole thing unblinkingly._

_ The covering my ears didn't help. I still heard everything. A soft thump – my mother falling from the tree she was in. the sound of a sword being pulled from a scabbard – a sharp intake of breath. "Take it slowly, now, boys – we want her to last." Several more intakes. And finally, a scream. Laughing and jeering. "Time to go, boys. All that's left to do is wait for her to bleed to death."_

_ More footsteps – this time getting softer. We wait a bit for good measure, than burst out of the tree. _

_There's a THING on the ground. Covered in red stuff. It has read skin, red clothing, red hair…._

_ And that thing is my mother_

_._ But right now, it's a beautiful day. Pippin, Merry, and Boromir are sword fighting. Boromir is tackled and tickled. When Aragorn tries to stop them, he gets tickled too.

"Kick 'em in the shins!" I shout.

Legolas is talking, but I don't pay attention. Suddenly, I see a flock of…birds. Something about these birds aren't right.

"Hide!"

Everyone takes for cover.

"Those were crebain from Dunland," Legolas says once we get out of hiding.

. "We must take the Cadharas path," says Gandalf. I look up at the huge mountain. Oh, no.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

AUTHOR'S NOTE; thank you Elas, for once again reviewing. We're at the 333 views mark; come on, let's see some more. And remember, babysitting, holiday edition, or… (Drumroll, please!) All of the characters in the story pretending to be another character for a day! Let me know!

We started climbing the mountain. It was easy for Legolas and I, being elves, but all that meant was that we had to carry more stuff. I'll admit, I'm not the strongest person there is, but this load made even Legolas falter.

At one point, the Ring fell from where Frodo keeps it, in a chain around his neck. It glinted, and it was beautiful.

I hear a voice in my head. This normally isn't a good sign, but… "Elani, pick me up!" it says. "Your father will be proud, Legolas will be following you instead of you following him, you can convince Arwen not to give up immortality, and we can call your mother back from Valinor. Don't you want that? All you have to do is pick me up!"

I know it's wrong. Of course it is, we need to destroy the thing. But some part of me… just a small part…

Oh, who am I kidding? Most of me wants to listen to it. After all, it is promising me my heart's desire.

Boromir picks it up. "So strange that we suffer a fate like this for suck a small thing…"

"Boromir, give it back to Frodo," Aragorn says. I'm strongly reminded of a fight between two elflings who wanted the same toy, with Aragorn as the one who installs reason.

"It means nothing to me," Boromir says. He even ruffles Frodo's hair. I wince. I hate it when people do that to me.

As we settle for camp, I search out Boromir.

"You feel it, too." It is a statement, not a question.

He doesn't answer for a while. "Too?"

"What?"

"You said, "too". It's calling you as well?"

I didn't answer again. "What did it promise you?" I ask.

"Gondor restored, my father…" he suddenly clams up.

I smile, but it isn't a happy smile. "You have daddy issues, too?"

"Not exactly, but my brother does."

"Faramir?"

He nods.

I notice everyone is preparing to go to sleep.

"Well, nice talking to you, Boromir."

"You, too."

Elves aren't supposed to feel the cold, but I'm not exactly warm as I go sit down to go to sleep. There are no trees, so I press close to my brother for body heat.

"We cannot do this!" someone shouts. I think it is Aragorn, but I can't see anything within a two- centimeter radius. It could be a giant butterfly for all I know.

I think someone else is talking, but the wind sweeps their words away. So much for elven hearing.

"We must go through the Mines of Moria!"

A deep, instinctive fear wells up in me.

But Frodo decides in the mines, and I suppose he's right. It would kill us all to be up there much longer.

Well, maybe not Legolas and I. But the rest of them.

We're at the doors to the mines. Everyone is sitting around. Gandalf is puzzling over the door. I don't try to help. I'm not good at riddles.

Merry and Pippin are throwing rocks at the water. I resist the urge to join them.

A flash of silver crosses my eye as the doors open.

"Good job, Gandalf!" I say. We aren't friends, but we're no longer enemies.

Before he has time to acknowledge it, all craziness breaks loose.

Tentacles emerge from the water, picking up the Ringbearer.

I do nothing to help. My brain is taking some time to process the tentacles reaching out from the water.

We shut the gates, and are plunged into utter blackness. I try not to panic.

I suppose there's no turning back now.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

AUTHOR'S NOTE; thank you for the third time to Elas for reviewing, and we're now up to 412 views! Remember, you have to tell me which bonus chapter you want, as otherwise, I'll wait 'til we hit 1000 views!

By the way, I'm not sure if Moria really had children, but I always pictured it like that, with kids playing everywhere.

Anyhow, on with the story!

We look around the dark chamber, trying to make something out.

Gimli is ranting about the splendors of Moria. I catch the end of the statement – "And they call it a MINE!"

"This is no mine, it's a tomb!" Boromir says.

We all look at the dwarf skeleton he found, with an arrow sticking through its head.

Legolas walks over to it, and plucks the arrow out, examining it. "Goblins…" he says.

I think Gimli is going to break from a mixture of rage and grief. I know the feeling. I've felt it every time a patrol comes back, with only one, two – or sometimes no – survivors.

It's instinct to try to comfort him, but I don't. I know he wouldn't appreciate it, and that he's trying to conceal his emotions. I've felt the same way countless times.

We move on because we have to, because the city is in carnage, with no one left breathing.

"Were there families here, or was it some sort of war camp?" I ask Gimli.

"Children running around, laughing, men and women working at the forges. This was not a war camp! There was innocent people here, babies who wouldn't hurt a fly!" he says quietly, but I can hear the intensity in his voice.

I look around at the destruction with even more horror. Babies, dwarflings – or whatever dwarves called their offspring – once played where I stood. And now they were dead.

A flash of light catches my eye. I look down, and pick up a small tin figure of an oliphaunt. I tuck it in my pack, as a memorial to the children whose graves I stood on.

I knew I was supposed to hate dwarves, but I liked Gimli, and this sight would have won over anyone's heart.

I didn't tell my brother about it, though. I knew he wouldn't see it in the same way.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or silver, but in mithril," Gandalf tells us.

I can see the bands of silver stretching across the rocks. Even though I'm experiencing claustrophobia, I have to appreciate the beauty.

"Bilbo had a mithril coat," someone says. I'm not paying attention, too overwhelmed by the beauty of the rock.

"That was a kingly gift!"

"I never told him, but its worth was more than the Shire."

Frodo made a small squeaking noise. I turn to him. He looks confounded. I suppose the shock of nearly being eaten by the Watcher is wearing off.

"Recovering from shock?" I ask him.

He gives me an odd look, the look the palace servants give me when they see the decapitated doll I've nailed to the door of my bedroom. The back-away-from-the-crazy-person look.

I move along in the group, because Frodo's not answering.

We're in a passageway, a dark passageway, with no veins of mithril to take away from the walls pressing in at all sides.

"I have no memory of this place," Gandalf says.

"Please, hurry in deciding which one to pick," I beg him.

"Why?"

"Claustrophobia is kicking in."

Of course, Pippin and Merry are no help.

"Walls pressing in around you…"

"Crushing you…"

"Suffocating you…"

"Shut up!" I say, though I can't pull back the smile on my face.

Finally, Gandalf chooses a way, and before long, we're in a huge cavern. Gandalf lights his staff as a torch to let us see around. I'm shocked at the hugeness of Moria.

There's a gleaming white tomb in the middle. It is Balin's tomb. I'm not quite sure who he is, but by the way Gimli is weeping, I gather he was a friend of Gimli's.

Gandalf starts to read from a logbook. I don't pay attention, but watch, as if hypnotised, as Pippin reaches out to touch a skeleton beside a well. It's not going to end well, but I can't find it in me to stop him. I know he needs to be stopped, but I can't do it.

When the skull, then body, and finally bucket falls down, I wince loudly with every bang.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf says…

And then we hear the drums.

We only have a few seconds to get ready before the orcs come. I stand beside the door, where they won't notice me and I can slip in between them, stabbing them in the back.

I've killed spiders before, but this battle was different. I didn't show any sympathy for the orcs, didn't feel any, but I felt like a monster. The spiders never cried out when you stabbed them. The spiders never looked at you. The spiders weren't capable of speech.

I didn't even notice the cave troll in the heart of the battle. Not until I heard Frodo cry out in pain and saw him on the edge of the cave troll's spear.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

A.N; sorry I didn't update last week! I was really busy. We're halfway to our 1000 view mark! And remember, tell me which special chapter you want.

Pippin and Merry attack the cave troll. Legolas climbs up the thing and shoots it in the head. Me, I start killing orcs as fast as possible, because the cave troll's already dead, and there has to be SOME way to avenge him.

I try not to think of what this means for Middle-Earth. The Ring Bearer is dead.

We finally drive all the orcs out, and rush to Frodoas a body.

"Frodo!" I shout as I slide on my knees to his side (ouch, it hurt. Not recommended on a floor covered in dead bodies). "Are you dead?"

Maybe not the smartest thing to say, but I wasn't thinking, okay?

He groans, sits up, and says, "Not dead."

"But you should be dead! You have to die now, because you need to be dead."

"Are you unhappy I'm alive?"

I take some time to think about that. "No, but how are you not dead?"

He seems to start taking off his shirt. I close my eyes, until I see everyone else gasp. I peek, just a bit.

Frodo is wearing chainmail under it, and it looks just like the really pretty rocks we were looking at – mithril!

"The hobbit has more to him than meets the eye," Gimli says. I can tell he approves.

"Can I – can I touch it?" I ask. He says yes, and I run my fingers over his sleeve. It feels like nothing I've ever felt before.

"Wow."

"Well," says Gandalf, "time to go."

We run down the passageway – because there are still orcs after us – and it widens out to a huge room, full of orcs. We are cornered.

We prepare to fight, when a strange wailing is heard and they all scurry away. I see something fiery in the distance.

"A balrog," Gandalf says. "This is beyond any of you. RUN!"

Legolas used to tell me bedtime stories, and in almost all of them, the main villain was a balrog. It used to scare me to death, the way that he described the monster.

Now I see my brother's description didn't do it justice. I feel like wetting my pants.

We sprint as fast as possible. I overtake all of them – I can beat Legolas in a race easily – but as I don't exactly know where we're going, I have to double back a lot.

We come to a bridge with a part missing. We take turns jumping across. I have a scary moment when as I jump, part of the bridge crumbles under me. I make it easily, though.

We have another scary moment when so much of the bridge crumbles, Frodo and Aragorn can't make the jump. They manage to get across, but all I can think is, 'Why does our ring Bearer always have to be the one in the most trouble?'

We should have gotten one monsters didn't decide would be tasty and who bridges don't crumble under.

We continue our sprint. Orcs are now shooting down at us – 'Cowards,' I think – and it's all we can do to dodge them.

We come to a very narrow bridge, one with no rails, and a bottomless pit stretching below it. We go across it as fast as we can.

Gandalf is the last. He turns, and faces the balrog, which is right behind us now. I look into his face, and I do wet my pants, just a tiny little bit.

Gandalf is speaking, but I can't hear a thing. Everything is on mute. I am paralyzed by the horror of the monster.

Gandalf's staff flares, a light that nearly makes me go blind. Everything comes off mute. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" he screams, and cracks the bridge. The balrog plummets into the abyss.

I smile, nearly cheer, until I see the whip that hovers just above him. My laugh turns into a scream.

Gandalf's legs get swiped out from under him. He is dragged to the edge of the broken bridge.

"Fly, you fools," he says, softly, but intensely.

Then he just… lets go.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

A N; 665 views! And … yeah.

"NOOOOOO!" Frodo screams.

I am trying to process. Gandalf just fell into the abyss. Gandalf just fell into the abyss.

It's just not adding up. Gandalf can't have fallen. He's… well, he's Gandalf. I think the hobbits – especially Frodo – are screaming. I'm not sure. Everything sounds distorted, like I'm underwater.

Someone, Legolas, I think, is pulling me up the stairs. I offer no help, but I don't fight either. I think I am in shock.

Everyone is sobbing, once we get to the light. Well, the hobbits are, but I can tell everyone is downcast. We have just lost our leader. Well, they have. I was never officially in the fellowship.

I think Aragorn is telling everyone to get up. Boromir argues with him, just a bit. I can tell by the tone of his voice. And then Aragorn says something, and Boromir gives in.

I was still underwater. I couldn't hear anything.

We start walking, fast. It is about 2, maybe 3 hours before the shock wears off, and I start feeling sad.

I don't cry, though.

I haven't cried since Naneth sailed.

_Legolas somehow got her onto his horse. I was sent to run ahead on the horse Naneth and I had been sharing. _

_"__Naneth!" I scream as soon as I see another elf. "There was orcs, and they caught her. And there was orcs…"_

_"__Hush," he says, and I realize he's in the uniform of a palace worker. I realize he works in the stables. He helped me get Naneth's horse ready today._

_We raced at breakneck speed to where I had left her. The elf ran off with her – or, rode off._

_She was on death's doorstep for a week. Than two. I didn't get to see her at all. _

_Ada didn't tell anyone what he was going to do until he did it. He strapped her on a horse and rode off. He came back a week later. Alone, except for the horse. _

_"__I took her to Valinor," he told Legolas. "They're the undying lands. She can't die now. She'll be safe."_

_I realized something as I ran to my room. We didn't know for sure that being in the Grey Havens made you immortal. And you weren't immortal on the boat ride._

_The only thing that kept Naneth alive was the constant care of the healers. She was probably dying right now. Maybe even dead._

_I cried in my room for 3 days. The sheets were soaked, because I stayed in bed the whole time. _

_I hardly ate. I think Legolas had to feed me, because I couldn't do it myself._

_The thing that kept me in bed for a month after that was a simple, bone-crushing fact. _

_I hadn't said goodbye. _

_And now I'd never be able to._

We soon arrive in Lorien. It's beautiful, I realize as I peer around.

Gimli is talking about some elvish witch. I don't pay attention.

"I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!", he says.

Then we all got a face of pointy.

Someone steps forwards. I dimly recognize him as Haldir, from a visit to Lorien maybe 100 years ago. I didn't like him. He treated me like an annoying puppy and threw dirt at me. And then I threw a rock at him and he went crying for his mother.

"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark," he says.

I don't like it, but I keep my mouth shut. I'm not in the mood to have dirt thrown at me. So what if he was the equivalent of 10 and I, 3? I still want to throw a rock at him.

As if Legolas has read my mind, he approaches me while Aragorn goes off to talk to him. "No throwing rocks at Haldir. We want to be on good terms with Lorien."

"What if he throws one at me, first?" I whine.

"Then duck."

Haldir decides to take us to the Lady of the wood. Uh – oh. Galadriel.

We walk for a long time, and I warn Merry and Pippin; "Look, Galadriel, she can get inside your head. It's creepy. I just wanted to warn you."

They look at me, shrug, and say, "Okay!"

I consider writing a 'no trespassing' sign on my forehead but don't.

Once we get there, Celeborn speaks. I try to pay attention, but his voice is so boring, that I can't. I have a short attention span.

_Elani… _I hear a voice in my head say.

Darn! I knew I should have written 'property of Elani' on my forehead


End file.
